Carey Price Pro Reads: Depth decisions and managing traffic off rush

​The Scenario

Price is facing an even-numbered attack against the New York Islanders as this play crosses the blue line, but things break down as a pinching defenseman joins the rush as a late trailer but ahead of his should-be backchecking Canadiens forward. Before things break down and get a lot more dynamic, however, Price is facing a simple 2-on-2 attack over the blue line:

What do you think of Price’s positioning so far above the crease at this point? Is there anything about the passing option you can see that would allow him to take that much ice?

Managing his depth is just the first part of this sequence, which quickly devolves defensively into a much tougher situation, with a screen in front and an even more dangerous cross-ice pass option in right-shooting Jordan Eberle wide open to Price’s right:

As we can see in the above freeze frame, Price gets low and wide to try and find the puck as this two-person screen develops quickly in front of him, making it tough for him to see the cross-ice pass as it leaves the stick at the top of the face-off circle. What do you think of the decision to get low and try to look around the screen, instead of staying upright, taller and narrower in his stance, to maybe look over it? Can you think of any other advantage of getting low?

The Save

All those decisions are a lot easier with the play paused and time to consider the options, so now let’s take a look at the entire thing at full speed, including the entertaining finish?

Did any of your answers change seeing it at full speed? What about that push across on Eberle, which left Price sliding through his ideal save positon as the skilled Islanders forward held onto the puck and tried to shoot the other way? Price goes through it all below.  

The Pro-Read

Make sure you pay attention to this one, because Price explains multiple elements, including a few that might have you second guessing some of those answers from the freeze frames.